lukonyx

Hob takes Dream’s hands in his, squeezes them tightly, and, because he can, raises them to his lips, brushing soft butterfly kisses against each knuckle. Dream’s breath stutters at the motion, and when Hob meets his gaze, he sees the most lovely rose blush blooming across his beloved’s face. 

“Hi,” Hob greets his future husband. 

“Hello dear heart,” Dream replies, breathless.

The gaze at each other, lost in the moment, before a cleared throat startles them back to the rest of the room.

“If we may begin?” Destiny asks, his book already open.

They both nod, and turn to face the being who will bond them together, mind, body, and blood.

Destiny recites a passage in a tongue that Hob does not know, but he nonetheless understands. The air shimmers around him and Dream, a current of magic enveloping them in a glowing warmth that Hob feels all the way down to his bones. When he breathes, he feels it. The sound of their hearts, beating in sync with one another, an affirmation that no matter where he is, he will feel Dream with him always, just as Dream will always feel him.

The magic’s intensity crests as they recite their vows, promises to remain true, to be faithful, to love into eternity. Hob can feel the pulse of their shared power between them, the weight of Dream’s responsibilities halved as Hob swears to share them as his Consort.

Hob then kneels, head bowed, and Delirium presents the circlet to Dream. Dream takes a deep breath, as if still in disbelief of what is happening, before he places the circlet on Hob’s head, completing the bonding ceremony. When Hob stands, he feels no longer just human, but so much more, and when he meets Dream’s eyes he is struck dumb by how much more beautiful his beloved has become. 

“The marriage is completed,” Destiny announces, closing his book. “Welcome Hob Gadling, new Consort of Dream of the Endless, and regent of the Dreaming realm. ”

The rest of the room erupts in a deafening and uproarious applause, every citizen of the Dreaming in attention standing to cheer their new regent. Some of Hob’s friends are in attendance as well, though they will only remember this ceremony as a dream. They will have a very different ceremony in the Waking, and Hob thinks he must be the luckiest man in the world to be able to marry the love of his life twice.

With the ceremony complete, there’s just one thing left to do. Hob wraps an arm around Dream’s waist and pulls the Endless in for their first kiss as a married couple, the first of many, the first to start a lifetime together.

“I love you,” Hob whispers against Dream’s lips when they pull apart.

“And I, you,” Dream replies, his eyes reflecting supernovas and galaxies that Hob had not been able to perceive before. It feels, he thinks, like falling in love with Dream all over again. He wonders what other new surprises this marriage will have in store for him, already excited at the thought of re-learning Dream anew.